A Mary Sue Story
by ThisAccountIsDEAD42
Summary: The ultimate demon beast is unleashed on Dreamland. As everyone starts to fall head over heels in love and completely out of character, it's up to Kirby to stop the Mary Sue plague from destroying his home and to bring some sense back to our stories.
1. Chapter 1

A/N- Hello, all! Witch O' Miracles, formerly known as Sailor Popstar, back writing again! What I thought was going to be a permanent leave only turned out to be a brief hiatus, so I'm back with stories once more. This was an idea that came to me the other day, and I was so eager to write it that I actually got it done a lot sooner than I had planned. This is the first chapter in "A Mary Sue Story", which is a parody of the Mary Sue plague that has swept every fandom of Fanfiction. Note, this is a **parody **and thus it is not meant to be taken seriously. This is simply for entertainment and to point out the evilness of Mary Sues. It's probably not my best work, but once more, it's a parody. I hope to be back with 'real' stories soon, but for now, please enjoy my attempt at humor.~

* * *

"Escargon!"

Said snail jolted upright from his slouched position in the leather armchair, upon which he'd been eagerly devouring a rather intense and intriguing novel, at the sound of his name reverberating through the hallways of Castle Dedede. Quickly realizing that it was simply his Majesty summoning his right hand man to complete yet another mundane task, Escargon gave an exasperated sigh and lethargically hoisted himself out of the chair and onto the cold, stone floor of the library. After dog earring his current page in order to mark his progress, he slithered in the direction of Dedede's throne room.

**"Escargon**!"

His pace increased rapidly as the king's gruff voice amplified in volume, and as his tone adopted a much more harsh edge that could make even the coldest hearted dictator cringe. Once he'd mentally prepared himself for the coming onslaught of orders and perhaps beatings as well, Escargon heaved open the broad doors and made his way down the red, velvet carpet towards the source of all the noise.

"Yes, your Majesty?" the snail greeted, giving a respectful bow to the glowering penguin that sat perched on his massive motorized throne.

"What took you so long? I've been calling you for the past minute and a half!" Dedede spat, giving his loyal servant a whack on the head to pour salt into the wound. "What if it had been an emergency, huh? How could you ever live with yourself if your laziness was the cause of my death? That's practically treason!"

Escargon was too busy rubbing the rather large bump that had begun to form where he'd been struck by the enraged penguin's oversized hammer to pay any mind to Dedede's childish ranting. Putting up with his antics was all in a day's work, and Escargon had seen his Majesty's usual song and dance more than enough times to know how to deal with it. He simply bit his tongue to hold back any snarky comments that could escape from his lips and worsen the situation, and withstood the tantrum in silence.

"...I might as well leave you to slither back to the hole that you crawled out of! In fact, I think that I will. Next time you aren't there to tend to my needs, I'm kicking you out of here. You got that?"

Seeing that the worst of the storm had blown over, Escargon finally responded. "Of course, your Majesty. Now, what service do you require of me?"

Dedede's expression darkened at the question. His voice became more venomous, and his eyes began to glow with a blazing fire. "It's that damn Kirby again," he spat, clenching his glove clad wings into fists. "He's defeated every single demon beast that I've ordered since his arrival! I just can't beat that disgusting little pink ball." With that, he jumped up from his seat and began to pace back and forth in thought. "We haven't been able to find out what his weakness is, and he can just copy whatever's thrown at him in order to take opponents down!"

"Perhaps we can find a demon beast that attacks in a manner that can't be copied?" the servant mused, stroking his beard as he pondered over the situation.

"Of course!" Dedede's expression brightened at the epiphany. "If Kirby can't copy anything, than he's as worthless as a Waddle Dee! It's perfect!" He gave Escargon a joyous smack on his already injured head before bursting into a chorus of triumphant laughter. Aforementioned snail joined in after giving his head another quick rub. Once their victory cheer came to an end, Dedede snatched his handy dandy demon beast catalogue that he kept tucked away in his robe, and began to flick eagerly through the pages with Escargon peering over his shoulder. Their eyes skimmed hungrily over each picture and description that came equipped.

"Hmmm... what about this one?"

"Nah, that looks to wimpy."

"This one?"

"Haven't you learned by now that bigger doesn't equal better? Kirby took down Masher easily once he had the help of that elf eared kid!"

The duo's hopes began to wear thin as the list of demon beasts remaining narrowed. It seemed as if each and every one of them used a projectile or element of sorts that could easily be used against them in combat. But finally, just as they were about to call it quits and retire the catalogue to the shelf, a caption caught Escargon's eye.

"Your Majesty!" he exclaimed, excitedly jabbing the paragraph with his finger, "Look at this!"

Dedede glanced down at the newly discovered candidate. "Hmmm..." his eyes widened as he attempted to make sense of the print on the page. "Escargon? Would you mind?"

"Oh, of course. How could I have forgotten that our omnipotent king couldn't read. Ahem..." he cleared his throat and began to read the text aloud. "Demon beast number 666: Mary Sue."

"Mary Sue?" The obese ruler scoffed at the name. "That doesn't sound intimidating at all. In fact, it sounds like something that you'd read about in some cheeky little fairytale. I say that we skip it."

Escargon paid no mind to Dedede and instead continued reading. "The Mary Sue is a very frightening demon beast that possesses all the qualities of a 'perfect being.' Their powers are limitless, and they have the ability to both completely morph the personalities of those around them and make others fall in love at first sight. They leech off of the traits of those near them, turning them into shells of their former selves as well as complete wusses. The Mary Sue has no weaknesses that are currently known and it is the ideal demon beast for destroying pesky Star Warriors."

As soon as the words left Escargon's mouth, Dedede galloped over to his chair, slammed his large behind into the seat, and repeatedly mashed the 'On' button on the delivery system control pannel until Customer Service's cocky grin and peculiar colored hair appeared on the screen.

"If it isn't his Majesty and his Excellency Escargon!" Customer Service let out his trademark chuckle at the sight of his most loyal customers. "I'm guessing that the previous demon beast didn't work out, no?"

"Of course it didn't!" Dedede bellowed, slamming his fists down onto the armrests of his throne. "All this time you've just been selling us complete garbage! Kirby took them all out with ease! We're getting sick of all your creations coming up as failures."

"The competence of the user plays a role in the results, may I remind you." The salesman smirked at the lost expression on the penguin's face. "But if you don't find my personal suggestions worthy," he continued, pushing his glasses up his nose, "why don't you pick one out yourself?"

Escargon flipped the catalogue open to the page that they'd marked and held it up to the screen with urgency. "We're interested in number 666, the 'Mary Sue,'" he explained, gesturing to the appropriate picture.

Some emotion that the snail couldn't quite pick up on flickered across Customer Service's face for a brief second, before his grin quickly returned. "Well you're in luck! We just so happen to have a Mary Sue in stock right now. I'll send it over to you right now, after you pay the fee, of course."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Dedede waved a wing dismissively as the heart attack inducing price tag flashed across the monitor. He was used to Holy Nightmare's over pricing of merchandise by now, and he never bothered to pay the bill until they went after him either way.

The delivery system then came to life with a few clicks and crackles, and with a shower of light, a figure began to form on the teleporter. Escargon and Dedede shielded their eyes as the bright light started to fade, and then they both stared intently at the new arrival.

It was then that they were both hit with an emotion so powerful, it equaled the force of being struck by an eighteen wheeler truck combined with a herd of rampaging cattle. Their minds both became vacant of any thoughts other than... _her. _She just sat their so casually, basking in her own perfection. The two men slowly approached the apple of their eye with an intensified interest, their chilled hearts now beating at a pace that matched the wings of a hummingbird.

"Introducing Maryanne Susan, the perfect demon beast!" Customer Service announced, cackling internally at the sight of the immobilized snail and penguin. Oh, he couldn't wait to tell Nightmare about how they'd already fallen under her spell! "I'm sure that she'll be able to get the job done for you. Kirby will be absolutely powerless before her. Enjoy." With a goodbye wave, the screen turned black and folded back into the secret compartment in the wall. Maryanne gracefully leapt down from the delivery system as it to retreated into the floor and the lights flickered back to life. Dedede and Escargon continued to stare awestruck at her pure beauty and elegance.

The Mary Sue plague had begun.

* * *

A/N- I hope that you enjoyed the first installment, and as always, feedback is appreciated. I admit that it was short and not all that exciting, but once the action picks up a bit it should be more captivating to read. Chapter Two will hopefully be up in the near future, and then we'll get to see the plague take over some of our favorite knights as well as our other beloved characters. ;) Fun fun.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Finally, chapter two is up! Sorry about the wait, but I really just can't update on a normal schedule. So for now on, updates will just be "whenever I feel like it." (Or whenever I just decide to get off my ass and actually do something. Take your pick.) Also, I think that I should point out that any OOCness is _intentional. _Don't worry, it's all just part of the story. ;) So without further ado, please enjoy!~

* * *

Customer Service couldn't help but hum a jaunty tune to himself.

Everything was working out _perfectly. _What were the odds that Dedede himself would come crawling right into his trap? It had been laid out all along, yet the salesman himself hadn't even thought of executing it. The perfect demon beast- how fitting for the situation! It was true that the Mary Sue was a dangerous species that should be used with caution, which made him rather reluctant to use it often, but now that he reflected on the conversation with Dreamland's ruler that had occurred just a few moments prior to this, he really had no need to worry. Dedede never bothered to pay any mind to the individual quirks and side effects that came with each demon beast, and that alone put the penguin as well as his kingdom at risk. So really, how was this time around any different than before? Yes... The Mary Sue should- nay, _would-_ defeat Kirby without failure. They'd destroyed entire planets in the past, so what was one little pink puff to do?

The dwarfish man chuckled once more as he peered down through his microscope that allowed him to get an indepth look at the inhabitants of Popstar. It was this device that gave him the ability to study what was the 'newest craze' to hit Dreamland, and with that knowledge by his side, it provided him with the advantage to formulate a demon beast accordingly. How else would he have been able to come up with creations such as Power Stomach and Hardy?

His lips curled into a devilish smirk as he focused the lens in on the love struck Escargon and Dedede, who were both still staring wide eyed at the Mary Sue, their jaws hanging so low that they nearly brushed the floor.

Total victory would be Holy Nightmare's in no time.

* * *

Who would have ever even considered the possibility of someone as coldhearted and unappealing as Dedede ever falling in love? It was all just part of the 'magic' of Mary Sues. One of their most frightening abilities was the power to make one fall in love at first sight, and once she had the victim clenched in her iron tight grasp, the Mary Sue would proceed to suck all the life out of her hostage until they were nothing but a one dimensional being.

Now that the feeling had finally returned to his feet, the penguin took a curious step towards the new arrival. Her porcelain skin glowed in her own radiance, and her golden hair cascaded down her shoulders and framed her face that had now broken out into a smile. Her pearly white teeth were the very image of perfection- no, they went above and beyond. It would be an insult to call such a beautiful creature anything below a goddess.

"Hi," the king finally managed to mutter, feeling a blush creep up onto his hardened face. "M-my name's Dedede, and I'm the ruler of this magnificent kingdom." He started to glow with pride, hoping that the demon beast would be amazed by his great power and authority. How could she _not _want to be with a tyrant like himself?

Escargon saw exactly what his boss was attempting to do, and with a scowl of annoyance, he jumped in between the two before Maryanne could respond. There was no way in hell he was going to let his one chance of true love slip from his fingers and fall into the gnarled grasp of someone as repulsive as the ruler of Dreamland!

"I'm Escargon!" he announced with a smile, taking the woman's slender hand in his own and planting a kiss on her smooth skin. Oh, how soft her hand felt to touch! Escargon longed to keep his grasp entwined with her's, but Dedede quickly shoved him out of the way and took his place.

"Please don't mind him!" Dedede bellowed heartily before shooting a quick glare at the snail, who was now keeled over on the floor from the strike. "He's just my footman. Actually, he's more like a piece of furniture to me. That's right- he's a rather useless piece of furniture. Nothing that you should be worried about!" He turned back to the demon beast and found himself completely captivated by her eyes. They were just such a beautiful shade of emerald green...

The beaten snail heaved himself upright again and folded his arms stubbornly. Why did Dedede always have to get his way? It just wasn't fair! Escargon had been busting his hide in order to meet the king's every demands for the past several years, and this was his reward? His eyes narrowed and he stomped up behind the gushing dictator before leaping up onto his back and proceeding to pummel the living daylights out of his wool hat clad head.

"Ack! Escargon, what's gotten into you?!"

"This'll teach you to push me around like that! How dare you try and steal my love away from me!"

"_Your _love? HAH!"

The duo then began to engage in a full out brawl, fists flying blindly through the air in hopes of striking their target to the floor. Escargon managed to punch Dedede square in the eye, but in return he took a blow to his precious shell which resulted in a crack forming. Mortified by the thought of having to seek out a new shell _again, _the snail gave a horrified squeal before slithering away to his living quarters at mach speed.

Dedede let out a triumphant howl before dusting himself off. His eye was throbbing as it began to turn a sickly shade of purple and started to swell, but he ignored the pain and instead placed an arm around the shoulders of his prize.

"Now... Where were we?"

* * *

_Thud._

Sir Meta Knight averted his gaze from his novel: _How to Tolerate Those Mentally Inferior to You_ _Without Losing Your Sanity for Beginners, _at the faint sound of a struggle. After muttering something along the lines of, "Immature imbeciles," he set the aged book aside, fixed his mask back onto his round face, and heaved open the doors of the room that he shared with his two knaves. Aforementioned soldiers were currently training out in Whispy Woods for the day, and feeling confident that they could handle themselves without his assistance by now, Meta Knight had decided to take the day off and just relax for once. But, of course, something _always _had to come up, and he reluctantly set his R&R aside for the time being in order to tend to the one whom he claimed loyalty.

Meta Knight's paced quickened as he neared the throne room and the sounds of flesh connecting with bone and high pitched shrieks could be heard. He came to a halt, however, as a distraught Escargon soon emerged into the corridor from the direction of the room in question, and hightailed towards his own bedroom, all the while howling something about a "Greedy, love stealing hussy."

Now the Star Warrior had learned from his time working at Castle Dedede that, in a scenario such as this, it was usually best not to get involved. Dedede and his footman got into little squabbles all the time, and in more cases than not, they were over the most trivial little things. Curiosity got the best of him, though, and he couldn't help but peer silently through the door which had been left ajar after Escargon's fleeting exit.

And that's when it hit him.

There she was, basking in her own perfection, with the king's arm slung casually over her shoulders. Oh, how her soprano voice that tinkled like wind chimes in an early morning breeze caressed his eardrums, as it elegantly danced lightly through the air! The veteran let out a dreamy sigh as her laughter warmed up the deepest depths of his now quickly beating heart. Feeling his pink blushes start to turn to a more scarlet shade, Meta Knight timidly entered the room and shuffled towards the woman that had stolen his heart, all the while looking down shyly.

It was then that Dedede and the demon beast finally noticed that there was now a third person among them. With a scowl, the king reluctantly stepped away from his future bride, whom he had just been discussing his oh-so-peaceful and serene kingdom with. Determined to not let his knavish knight get in the way of him and his love, much like Escargon had just attempted to do, Dedede intercepted the pathway between the two with his large mass.

"Can I help you, _Sir _Meta Knight?" the penguin growled, emphasizing his distaste at using the formal title of 'Sir' on one that he despised. "You're interrupting my quality time with Maryanne, the future queen of Dreamland!"

"Please, your Majesty," Meta Knight murmured, his voice meek, "I would just like to meet this beautiful woman's acquaintance, if that would be alright."

Dedede simply let out another loud chain of guffaws, finding great amusement, as well as a twinge of annoyance, at the behavior of his underling. "Are you kidding me?" he choked out between little spasms of laughter, "You seriously think that I would let someone as lowly as yourself associate with a woman as perfect as her? It boggles the mind!"

"But, I..." Meta Knight found words escaping him. Instead, he continued to look at the velvet carpet, glad that he had his mask to conceal the flames that were crackling in his cheeks, and the trembling sensation that had consumed his lower lip. _No... I mustn't show weakness in front of her! _

"That's enough!" the tyrant bellowed, finally managing to regain his composure. "Never will I allow a creature so vile to even _attempt _to taint my relationship with my true love! Now, off with you!" With that, Dedede fetched his trademark weapon of choice, and used it to punt the puffball out of his throne room in a manner much like a golf ball. Completely immobilized by this sudden rush of emotions, Meta Knight didn't even bother putting up a fight, and instead just went sailing out the doors and landed with a _thud _in the hallway.

A wandering Waddle Dee shot the fallen knight a sympathetic glance, knowing exactly where he was coming from, before continuing it's round about of the castle interior. Meta Knight then up righted himself before allowing his tears to spill over in miserable torrents.

"It's not fair!" he wept, feeling entirely helpless as he sat upon the cobblestone floor in a tangled mess of armor. "Why does his Majesty get to steal away my one chance of finding true love? _Why can't I be happy just for once in my life?!" _His tears poured relentlessly down his navy blue face, soaking his mask, as well as the floor, in the process. He banged a gloved fist against the wall in frustration at the situation.

From behind a nearby pillar, Fumu and Bun stood, watching the scene in pure horror.

"Sis?" Bun whispered to his older sibling, his mouth agape from awe at the sight of the respectable Star Warrior having a total mental breakdown in front of them.

"Yeah?" Fumu murmured, feeling all traces of affection for the veteran dissolve, leaving only a vacant shell behind.

"What in the hell is going on here, exactly?"

There was an uneasy pause before Fumu finally responded. "I don't know, Bun. I just don't know."

* * *

A/N: Yes, it was short, but hopefully enjoyable all the same. Well, we've seen how badly the Mary Sue plague has gotten to Meta Knight, so I think that next chapter we'll be seeing how the two siblings will bear with it. Fun stuff. Thanks for reading! :)


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Goodness, a month since the last update? So sorry about the slowness, everyone! Luckily, I only have about two more weeks of school left, so after that I'll have a lot more free time. Updates will hopefully be more frequent after that. Also, I'm sort of scrapping some continuity in this story, (but it's a Mary Sue parody, so it doesn't really matter, does it?) and I'm making it so that Kirby can talk. It'll just be easier that way. It's been several years since Kirby arrived, and although this doesn't really fit with the anime timeline, (since Nightmare was defeated when Kirby was still an infant,) you'll just have to roll with it. So, with all issues such as that aside, enjoy!~

* * *

"Hmmm..."

"Something bothering you, Kirby?"

The young Star Warrior, who was now going through his "rebellious teenager stage" after having spent several years as a child that barely had anything but the word 'poyo' to his name, turned his perplexed gaze to the green feathered speaker.

"Well," he began, as Tokkori unseated himself from the woven carpet that lay on the wooden floor and turned away from the television in order to give his full attention, "normally by now Fumu would have stopped by. Usually it's just to nag me about something or other, or to point out that our country is being utterly demolished by some lame demon beast, and I take it upon myself to ignore her in these cases. But today..." His voice trailed off as he furrowed his brow in a mixture of worry and deep thought. "I dunno, but something just doesn't feel right."

Tokkori simply waved a wing at the puffball that was seated on the bed of their shared home. "Oh please, you're starting to sound like Fumu herself! If something feels off, then why don't you just go and fix it? Come on, you're taking away from my soap operas." The obnoxiously loud mouthed bird returned his full attention back to his program, now having lost interest in anything that his companion had to say. Kirby rolled his eyes at his roommate's attitude before jumping off of the bed and heading out the door of the dome shaped house.

"Come on, Nancy, you can make it through the operation! Leonard and Ilsa _need _you! Don't give up on me now, baby!"

"Don't stress yourself too much," Kirby called over his shoulder with a smirk, as Tokkori's voice carried through the open windows and into the meadow. As time had passed, the purple beaked avian had become much more lazy as the years started to take a toll on his fragile body, and with it all came an addiction to the television set that had been given to them by Dedede himself, in another one of his failed attempts to thwart his round nemesis. Now the bird spent most of his days lounging, and Kirby swore that he could literally see the brain cells melting off of him.

Now the Star Warrior on the other hand, had managed to uphold his sense of adventure and his childlike curiosity as he had aged, and he held on to both attributes with a grip that could turn even the firmest knuckles white. He would often spend his days romping around the open meadows of Dreamland, or perhaps venturing through Pupupu Village. On occasion, he would also take the perilous trek up the nearby mountain where he would pay a visit to his old friend Dynababy, who was now more of a Dynafledgling. And, of course, there were those days when Kirby was called upon to royally beat some demon beast hide. Not even years of experience had caused his excitement in battle to dwindle. Rather, the constant upkeep of fights had managed to kindle his brave and daring spirit.

Kirby made his way towards Castle Dedede, passing a few locals along the way. They all waved cheerfully at Dreamland's protector, whom they had all once viewed as some troublesome young punk that had an appetite large enough to sustain China's population. But the foreigner had proved himself worthy of their approval, and now the Cappies revered him.

But as Kirby left the countryside and wandered into the village, something felt... odd. At first, he couldn't quite place his finger (or lack thereof) on it, but after surveying his surroundings more closely, he came to a realization. The normally bustling streets of Pupupu Village were vacant. Not a single Cappy was in sight.

"Hello?" the puffball called, as his footsteps echoed through the eerie emptiness. No reply. He tried once more, and this time, the door to a nearby building slid open.

"Kirby? Is that you?"

At the sound of the voice, the boy in question turned to see Kawasaki, who was standing in the doorway of his restaurant with a frying pan in hand and a worried expression marring his orange face.

"Hey, Chef! Where is everyone?" the Star Warrior inquired, gesturing to the normally active plaza that was now dead silent. "Was there a plague that ominously swept through the town overnight, or something?"

"Well actually, I saw everyone run off towards the castle earlier, but since I couldn't just leave my restaurant unattended, I stayed behind," Kawasaki answered uneasily. "But the odd thing is, nobody has come back ever since! The town's been completely empty, and honestly, it's starting to creep me out a bit. Who knows what the king could be hiding up there?" He shuddered at the thought.

"Typical," Kirby muttered as he shook his head. "Trust the Cappies to go and fall for _another _one of Dedede's schemes. Really, you'd think that they'd have learned by now."

Kawasaki just cracked a small grin before saying, "Do you think that you could go check it out? I mean, I'd love to and all, but I can't just leave. You never know if a hoard of customers might just come flooding in!" With a quick wave, the chef retreated back into his store and slammed the door shut before the pinkball could retaliate.

With a shrug, Kirby continued to make his way down through the village and towards the winding dirt path that lead to the castle. "Whatever happened to everyone else must have happened to Fumu and Bun as well," he mused as his small red feet carried him down the cobblestone path and to the grassy slopes. "And I thought that Fumu was actually smart." He let out an exasperated sigh at the thought of how gullible people could be sometimes. At times like this, if felt as if he were the only sane one left.

* * *

Fumu was at a loss for words.

Oh, how the day had taken such an unexpected, and rather unpleasant, turn. What had started out as a simple stroll around the castle grounds with her younger brother had evolved into _this._

Here she stood, fighting her way through a massive mob of Cappies that had suddenly turned up and were relentlessly pouring through the building's corridors. Apparently, word of this new demon beast, which had caused Sir Meta Knight's mental breakdown earlier, had somehow spread to the rest of the village, and out of curiosity Dreamland's residents had all come to take a peek at the new arrival.

And once they had caught a look, they all turned into something resembling an overpopulated pack of feral jackals that was fighting for the last piece of fresh kill. The "Mary Sue," as she'd heard it is called, had completely mesmerized all the males in the vicinity with her "charming good looks," and all of her victims were now savagely attempting to claw each other's eyes out in hopes that the victor would win the love of their life. Even a few women were joining in! Fumu was disgusted by this outcome, and even though she herself hadn't caught a good glimpse of the demon beast, Bun had. He was now somewhere in the mob, fighting for his very survival.

Dedede, of course, wasn't pleased that he now had all this competition between him and his sweetheart. Escargon and Meta Knight had been more than enough, but an entire village? He could literally feel the smoke pouring from his ears at the mass chaos that had erupted. How dare these lowly Cappies not show respect to their "beloved" ruler!

After his little outburst earlier, Meta Knight had retreated into his living quarters much like Escargon had done before him. He couldn't bear to show weakness in front of the love of his life! No, he had to be emotionally and physically prepared to take on this mass of suitors. He just _had _to win Marryane's love!

It was at this time that Kirby finally arrived at the scene, and he was horrified at what he was witnessing. Everywhere he looked, he saw the normally peaceful Cappies beating the ever loving crap out of one another. It was as if they were being manipulated by some dark force that amplified their aggression tenfold. Sucking in a deep breath, Kirby inflated himself so that he could float above the hoard, hopefully out of punching and or stabbing range. The breeze carried him over flying fists and flailing limbs, and finally he caught sight of Fumu amongst the mess. She was desperately struggling to keep her head above the sea of yellow.

"Kirby!" Fumu wailed gleefully at the sight of her friend. She extended her arms upwards, and with the biggest heave that he could muster, the Star Warrior pulled her up into the air along with him. Now Fumu wasn't a very heavy girl, in fact she had a rather light frame, but Kirby still struggled to keep the two of them afloat for long, and he had to drop back down once they had reached the garden, which was luckily safe at the moment.

Fumu let out a couple of shaky breaths, now that she was free from her prison. She looked up gratefully at her savior.

"Thank you so much, Kirby!" she beamed, giving him a hug. "I don't know what I could have done if you hadn't had come and saved me. It's a nightmare in there!"

"That's a bit of an understatement, Kirby breathlessly responded as he wriggled out of her embrace. "What exactly's going on, here?"

"Oh, it's terrible!" the Cappy-like girl threw her arms up into the air for emphasis. "Dedede ordered a demon beast, as you can expect him to, but this one's different. Instead of attacking people, it puts this sort of... spell on them. I can't really explain it all that well, but it can somehow manipulate others. It's gotten to Dedede, Escargon, Sir Meta Knight, and my brother."

The puffball did a double take at the list of names. "Woah, woah woah, back it up. You said Sir Meta Knight?"

Fumu nodded.

"You mean Sir Meta Knight, the badass Star Warrior that has won over the hearts of fan girls worldwide? Wielder of Galaxia? _That _Sir Meta Knight?"

She nodded once more.

"I don't believe you." Kirby folded his stubby pink arms in defiance. "That's just impossible. Impossible minus one, I should say. There's no way that Meta Knight would be stupid enough to fall for one of Dedede's traps."

"I'm telling you the truth!" Fumu pleaded, displeased by her friend's attitude towards the situation. "Please, Kirby, you have to help. Who knows what exactly this thing is capable of? I mean, it's already managed to take over the entire town, including Sir Meta Knight. What if all of Popstar's next?

Kirby paused for a moment to consider everything that he was being told. This truly was no ordinary demon beast, if it had honestly managed to trump Sir Meta Knight of all people. It had even backfired on Dedede himself, which meant that the dictator had had no idea what he was getting himself into. Kirby locked his eyes on Fumu's emerald green ones, and soaked in her pleading expression. No, he couldn't just call her a liar and walk away. It was his duty to defeat these abominations of nature as Dreamland's protector, after all.

"Okay, then!" With a determined grin, the pinkball pumped his fist into the air. "Let's go get this demon beast!" He gave a warrior yell before charging back into the mob of Cappies, with a troubled Fumu following in his wake.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Well, at least it didn't take me an entire month to get this update out. :P Yes, it's really short, but the next one should be longer. This one's really more of a bridge chapter. Expect more plot development next time around!

* * *

Meta Knight's lips curled into a satisfied smirk.

Yes, his plan was absolutely flawless. As he stared at his prized weapon, which was cradled in his gloved hands, the Star Warrior felt a surge of the triumph that would soon follow. With Galaxia, his dream of marrying Marryane would finally come to fruition. And the perfect bride wasn't the only reward he would receive. After all these years of quietly taking orders from that wretched Dedede, Meta Knight would at last be free! No more menial tasks, no more apocryphal loyalty... The sweetness that would come with his victory nearly made his mouth water.

He was going to kill that loathsome king. His plan was simple yet effective; Wait until nightfall, make sure that Escargon was cozy in his living quarters, stealthily sneak past the patrols of Waddle Dees and into Dedede's bedroom. There, he would be completely defenseless at the hands of a skilled swordsman. One simple swipe through the center would do the job nicely. Yes... That's all that it would take. If the tyrant's screams happened to wake anyone up, the navy puffball would simply do away with them as well. He'd kill every resident of Dreamland if he had to, as long as it meant obtaining what his heart desired.

Now all that was left to do was wait.

* * *

An odious stench rose from the vile in thick plumes of steam. With a great deal of concentration, Escargon poured a few millimeters of a separate solution into the concoction, which made it turn a sickly green before fizzling over to a deep shade of scarlet.

Knowing that his experiment had turned out to be a success, Escargon gave a joyous cheer. At last, the fruit of his labor was complete. Using his scientific prowess and knowledge, the snail had spent the day in the underground laboratory, mixing together various mixtures and solutions in a frantic attempt to get the result that he desired. And now that it was finally done, Escargon sealed the vile with a cork and placed it in an empty slot on a rack that rested in a refrigerator. After shutting the appliance door he removed his pair of gloves as well as his goggles and lab coat, putting them back in the appropriate spots. Once his appearance was simple enough to be considered unsuspicious he slithered up the basement staircase and down through the castle corridor.

There was no way that Dedede would ever suspect any foul play. How could he ever suspect his right hand man of creating a potion that would poison and kill one upon consumption? All that Escargon had to do was slip some into the king's evening glass of wine, and then the woman he enamored would be his for the taking.

The snail let out a devilish cackle as he slipped into his living quarters. All that stood between him and Maryanne now was a few hours of waiting for all the suitors to give up and go home for the night.

* * *

It was rather unfortunate for Escargon that two knaves had just so happened to be patrolling near his room at that time.

"Blade?"

Said knight looked up at the face of his companion, which was masqueraded by his teal colored helmet. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Sword gave a small nod, feeling as though he were on the exact same wavelength as the smaller armored being at his side. "Escargon must be up to something. It isn't quite natural to randomly burst out into evil laughter like that."

"Perhaps he's been watching too much daytime television lately?"

"No, that can't be right." Sword propped his chin in his hand as he began to ponder the situation. "Well, I thought that I noticed an odd smell coming from the basement area. I think that it would be safe to assume that he's been up to something down there."

"Well then, shall we investigate?" Blade started to march towards the basement doorway, the red ponytail that trailed form his helmet swaying in the wind as he walked, but Sword's hand on his shoulder brought him to a halt.

"I don't think that we should both go down there," the older knight warned in a hushed tone, hoping that no passersby had heard their plan. Luckily most of the Cappies that had invaded the castle earlier in the day were occupying the throne room and the surrounding area, so here they were safe for the most part. However, there was still the threat that a Waddle Dee or perhaps Dedede himself might come wandering by and see what they were up to, and Sword didn't want to take any chance of getting caught.

Blade nodded in understanding. "Alright then, why don't I stay up here and keep watch, and you go down to investigate? If anyone comes, I'll let you know."

"Sounds good." With that, Sword slowly opened the basement door, wincing at the loud creaking noise it made in the process. After receiving a "Good luck!" from Blade, he shut the door and made his way down the old staircase.

The stench grew overwhelmingly powerful as the knight reached the bottom of the flight of stairs. He gagged slightly before forcing himself to continue through the dank basement. After wandering past the wine cellar and the torture chamber, he came across yet another door. Judging by the fact that the toxic smell seemed to be emanating from here, it was safe to assume that this was in fact Escargon's laboratory, and he made his way through the entrance.

Various chemicals were strewn about the room, contained in a menagerie of beakers, viles and test tubes. A cage full of odd rodent-like creatures was resting atop a table in the corner, and they appeared to be the snail's test subjects. The eastern wall was spotlighted by a chalkboard, with several formulas scribbled across its black surface in a messy scrawl. Apart from a single light bulb dangling precariously from the ceiling, there was no light source, and the whole room had an eerie feel to it.

Sword wandered past a table that had files scattered across it and computer which was giving off a faint glow over to refrigerator. His gloved hand reached for the handle, and after opening it, his eyes locked on to the producer of the fumes. A vile marked with the label "Poison: Do not ingest or get in eyes" was housed on a shelf.

The vassal gave an audible gasp at his discovery. Now why exactly would Escargon be mixing a poison solution for? Was it another attempt to bring down Kirby, after the demon beasts had continued to fail? No... they wouldn't stoop that low, would they? Or... was it for someone other than Dreamland's hero?

"He's probably gone and finally cracked," the armored soldier deduced, recalling all the abuse that the snail had suffered over the years from the penguin to whom he was loyal to. "I never thought that he'd have the guts to man up and do it." While the aspect of seeing the cruel king's tyranny finally come to an end didn't sound at all unappealing, Sword knew that he couldn't just let this little find slip away without any mention. With a conflicted sigh, he grabbed the vile and stuck it in his pocket, before double checking that any sign of his trespassing had been erased before exiting the lab and the basement.

"Blade!" Sword announced victoriously as he emerged from the underground chamber back into the corridor, "You'll never believe what I found down there! ...Blade?"

The vassal scanned the corridor several times, checking behind each pillar and statue. "Blade?" His call went unanswered. The pink helmeted knight had disappeared.

"Great. He left his post," Sword mumbled with a tinge of annoyance. What if someone had come and found him rummaging through Escargon's belongings? He probably would have had his head sliced off right then and there!

_Oh well. Perhaps Sir Meta Knight called him away or something. _Taking one last glance at the basement door, Sword hurried away from the scene of the crime in order to find his companion and fill him in on what he'd discovered.


End file.
